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As much as Elon Musk wants to stake Tesla Inc’s future on artificial intelligence, he still needs to sell cars to fund those ambitions — and the auto business is only getting tougher.Tesla likely delivered about 372,160 vehicles during the last three months, according to analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. While this would be up about 11% from a year ago, it would still rank among the lowest recent quarterly totals for the company. Sales early last year were marred by intense backlash against Musk’s stint with the Trump administration and production pauses tied to refreshing the Model Y, Tesla’s most popular vehicle.Analysts are expecting sales to come up well short of the EV maker’s peak quarters in recent years, when Tesla nearly delivered 500,000 vehicles.Slower sales are likely the new normal for Tesla as it increasingly pivots its focus to AI, autonomy and robotics amid weakening global EV demand, and a US market that now lacks a federal tax incentive for plug-in cars. Tesla is also phasing out its low-volume luxury EVs, the Models S and X, further narrowing an aging lineup that competes against a growing list of competitors around the world.“If they can show that there’s stability in the numbers without the tax credit — and they can, at least with the delivery number — I think that that would be a win,” said Gene Munster, managing partner of Deepwater Asset Management.Investors will be looking at the period to gauge what demand looks like without those tax incentives, Munster said.Sales have stabilized early this year in Europe, albeit at depressed levels. It’s off to a much-improved start in China, with shipments from its Shanghai factory soaring 91% in February, according to preliminary data from China’s Passenger Car Association.Enthusiasm around Musk’s future business plans sent Tesla’s stock to a record high in December, before those gains pared early this year.Investors increasingly are willing to overlook car sales figures and prioritize indications that Tesla is progressing with its robotaxi, Cybercab and Optimus robot efforts. A stable or modestly growing EV business is useful as long as it can fund Musk’s growing AI ambitions.Garrett Nelson, senior vice president of equity research at CFRA, said he’s focused on whether the company can deliver on those ambitious products and timelines. He is also watching Tesla’s plans to increase capital expenditures.“It’s not so much about the deliveries, it’s more about bigger picture like the Terafab announcement, and this spending binge that Tesla is embarking on,” Nelson said. “Concerns regarding this explosion in spending are really weighing on sentiment towards the company.” 

Tesla is looking to buy equipment worth $2.9bn for manufacturing solar panels and cells from Chinese suppliers including Suzhou Maxwell Technologies, two people familiar with the matter said, ‌as CEO Elon Musk aims to add 100 gigawatts of solar capacity in the United States.Musk said in ​January that solar power could meet ‌all of the electricity needs of the United States - including the ever-increasing demand from a growing number of ‌data centres. Job postings on the ⁠Tesla website said it aims ‌to deploy 100 GW of "solar manufacturing from raw materials on ‌American soil before the end of 2028".Suzhou Maxwell Technologies, the world's biggest producer of screen-printing equipment used to make solar cells, is ⁠among the leading candidates to supply machinery for the project and has been seeking export approval from China's commerce ministry, according to the two people and a third person. The sources declined to be named because the information is not public.Other potential suppliers include Shenzhen SC New Energy Technology and Laplace Renewable Energy Technology , the first two people said.Some of the estimated 20bn yuan ($2.9bn) worth of equipment, including screen-printing production lines, will require export approval from Chinese regulators, according to the people. It wasn't immediately clear how much of the equipment would require approval or how long it would take.The Chinese companies were told ​to deliver the equipment before this autumn, the three people said, with two saying it would be shipped to Texas. Musk plans to build the solar capacity mainly for use by Tesla, although some will be used to power SpaceX satellites, the people said.The potential order highlights one ‌issue for the United States as it looks to ⁠reduce its dependence on ​China - reviving US manufacturing still requires some degree of trade with the world's second-largest economy.Chinese media reported last month ​that Tesla has visited several solar companies in China. The details of the companies in advanced talks, the estimated size of potential purchases, the delivery timeline, and regulatory requirements are reported here for the first time.Tesla, China's commerce ministry, Suzhou Maxwell, Shenzhen SC New Energy and Laplace Renewable Energy did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.An order from Tesla would mark a big boost for Chinese producers of solar manufacturing equipment, which have struggled with weak demand because of a domestic production glut.The US solar market, meanwhile, is heavily protected by tariffs aimed at curbing imports of cheaper panels and cells from China and Southeast Asia, where many Chinese producers operate subsidiaries.However, solar manufacturing equipment was excluded from tariffs by the Biden administration in 2024 at the urging of US solar panel makers who argued they had nowhere else to buy the ‌machines needed to set up domestic factories. That ‌exemption has been extended by the Trump administration, and ⁠the United States has been pushing to create its own solar supply chain to reduce its dependence on Chinese companies.Musk has criticised ⁠tariff barriers as making the economics of deploying solar in ⁠the United States "artificially high", when the country is facing a critical power shortage driven by a surge in demand from AI data centres and manufacturing.His solar ambitions cut a stark contrast with the energy policies of his former employer, President Donald Trump, who seeks to maximise U.S. fossil fuel production and has slashed federal subsidies for solar and wind projects, which he calls costly and unreliable.Musk briefly worked for the Trump administration running the Department of Government Efficiency, which oversaw mass layoffs of federal workers to save money.US power consumption hit its ​second straight record high in 2025 and will rise further in 2026 and 2027, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).Setting up 100 GW of solar manufacturing in a couple of years would be a staggering feat, and Musk is known for making big promises on ambitious timelines that often do not pan out.Overall, the U.S. had 1,300 GW of capacity to generate electricity as of 2024, according to a report published last year by the American Public Power Association. Out of that, only 10%, or 135 GW, was solar-powered.Tesla has been on a push to source more components locally in different regions. However, it remains dependent on 400 China-based suppliers to keep its costs down. Sixty of them also supply Tesla globally, including for its US EV plants.Production preparations for Tesla's Cybertruck ‌and Semi models in the US ​encountered setbacks last year after component shipments from China were suspended, following a significant tariff hike on Chinese goods imposed by the Trump administration, Reuters previously reported. 

Chinese auto giant BYD sold 2.26mn electric vehicles last year, a company statement showed Thursday, setting a new record for any firm globally.The figure puts BYD in pole position to outstrip Elon Musk's Tesla in the annual category for the first time, with the lagging Texas-based firm having previously announced 1.22mn in 2025 EV sales by the end of September.Tesla is expected to announce its total EV sales for last year on Friday.Shenzhen-based BYD, which also produces hybrid cars, announced the data in a statement published to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, where it is listed.Known as "Biyadi" in Chinese — or by the English slogan "Build Your Dreams" — BYD was founded in 1995, originally specialising in battery manufacturing.The automotive juggernaut has come to dominate China's highly competitive new energy vehicle market — the world's largest.Now it is seeking to expand its presence overseas, as increasingly price-wary consumption patterns in China weigh on profitability.BYD and its Chinese competitors face hefty tariffs in the US.But its success is growing in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and even Europe — to the consternation of traditional industry heavyweights from the continent.Tesla narrowly beat BYD in annual EV sales in 2024, with US company's 1.79mn just outpacing the latter's 1.76mn.Last year, Musk's firm saw sales struggle in key markets over the CEO's political support of US President Donald Trump and far-right politicians.Tesla has also faced rising EV competition from BYD and other Chinese companies, as well as from European giants. 

Tesla's $1tn, 10-year pay package to retain CEO Elon Musk is likely to be approved by shareholders at the company's annual meeting in November even though the amount is staggering.That is because it was crafted with an eye on keeping Musk in place, addressing concerns about the company's technical outlook and giving big company owners just enough reason to back the massive amount, investors and executive pay analysts said.Earlier on Friday, the automaker's board approved what it called "A Super Ambitious Incentive Package for a Pioneering, Ambitious and Unique CEO" that sets out lofty earnings and valuation targets awarding Musk millions of shares over the next decade if he hits them. It immediately gives Musk 96mn shares of restricted stock worth more than $31bn as of intraday trading on Friday that vests over the next two years, as well as more control over the company. His total 2025 compensation package is worth north of $113bn, executive compensation research firm Equilar has estimated."The pay package, which makes a big bet on the future of robots, may see shareholder support," said Taufiq Rahim, a SpaceX investor and principal at 2040 Advisory. "But it raises larger social questions about the outsized gains going to relatively few capital holders, which is likely not sustainable and will face public pressures.”The package is designed to keep Musk from leaving and is squarely focused on transforming Tesla into an artificial-intelligence and robotics powerhouse, the board said in a securities filing. It said Musk is the only person on the planet who can unlock Tesla's full potential.The compensation committee started negotiating Musk's pay package in February, it said, meeting with lawyers 37 times and directly with Musk 10 times over seven months. Certain items were non-negotiable for the idiosyncratic CEO: he wanted 25% of the company, to control Tesla's future direction and to be fully compensated for a 2018 pay package that was hung up in litigation.Musk threatened to leave more than once, and the board worried the company's AI talent would follow him out the door, it said in the filing.The $31bn in restricted shares, which he cannot sell for at least five years, is partial payback for a $56bn 2018 pay plan that a Delaware court voided last year. If Musk wins in court within a certain time frame, he will not receive the one-time payment "so there can be no 'double dip,'" the board said."Musk also raised the possibility that he may pursue his other interests and leave Tesla if he did not receive such assurance," the board said.The pay plan is by far the largest ever for any CEO, Equilar said. And while it is likely to face legal challenges, compensation experts see it winning shareholder approval."Time and time again, Tesla's shareholders have approved these grants over the years," Equilar Research Director Courtney Yu told Reuters. "While it may seem outlandish now, shareholders will get tremendous value out of it if Elon Musk is successful."None of Tesla's three largest outside investors, Vanguard Group, BlackRock or State Street, immediately said on Friday how they would vote. Among them, Vanguard and BlackRock supported Musk's $56bn pay package last year, disclosures show, while State Street funds voted against it.Tesla and top funds can still expect pressure over the pay, however, with a number of union figures and public-sector treasurers voicing concern."We urge shareholders to reject Musk’s money grab, take away the Tesla board’s rubber stamp, and restore basic corporate governance standards," said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, in a statement.Musk, who currently controls close to 13% of the company, would own 25% if the plan is approved, so long as he hits his performance targets and sticks around for at least seven more years. Payable over 12 tranches after hitting certain milestones, the ultimate prize could make Tesla the most valuable company in the world with an aspirational market capitalisation of $8.5tn, making it worth more than Microsoft, Meta Platforms and Alphabet combined, today, the board noted.Kristin Hull, founder and chief investment officer of Tesla investor Nia Impact Capital, called the package irresponsible. "This is investor money that could go into R&D or acquisitions, places that would really benefit Tesla in the long term," she said, adding that she is considering a challenge with other shareholders.Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, called Musk a visionary but said the pay plan was excessive and could set a bad precedent in corporate governance. He questioned whether Musk was worth that much."He also presides over a company that has lost its edge, is being overtaken by rivals, and whose brand has been tarnished by Musk’s actions outside of Tesla," he said.Tesla’s shares closed up 3.6% at $350.84 on Friday. They are down 13% for 2025, although they have recovered from their lows. Investors worry about its deteriorating electric vehicle business and rising foreign competition."One minute Tesla’s board is wondering if Elon Musk is a liability to the company given his outspoken views and political distractions, the next they’re effectively saying ‘pick a number, any number’ to lock him in for as long as possible," Coatsworth said."Surely Musk should be fighting for his job, not Tesla’s board fighting to keep him?"